100 Episodes - Successes

Successes

Syndication is often a profitable enterprise because series can be rerun for years after they end production. Shows of limited profitability during their first run will still prove to be viable to the production company if they can last 100 episodes. In recent years, this point is usually reached during a series' fifth season.

Shows of fewer episodes have become syndication successes. WKRP in Cincinnati was a major success in syndication despite having only produced 90 episodes. The Honeymooners was syndicated with only 39 episodes produced, though later compilations of other Honeymooners sketches from The Jackie Gleason Shows eventually brought this number to well over 100. More recently, Clueless has been more successful in syndication than during its network run, even though only 62 episodes had been produced by the time the series ended in 1999. Chapelle's Show entered syndication despite only producing 33 episodes, five of which were clip shows. Series with less than 100 episodes but whose episodes are in the public domain, such as Dusty's Trail, Meet Corliss Archer and Life with Elizabeth have also been syndication mainstays, mainly due to the fact that their lack of copyright means they cost virtually nothing to broadcast.

Dramas, which do not require daily runs, have also had success in syndication with shorter runs. For example, Lost in Space ceased production in 1968 after 84 episodes because it was becoming very expensive to produce. The original Star Trek series had only 79 episodes available when it ended in 1969 but after syndication it spawned multiple feature films and five spin-off series. Extreme examples include The Prisoner and Hondo, both successfully syndicated for more than 30 years despite having only 17 episodes produced. The original 1978 series Battlestar Galactica and its spin-off Galactica 1980 produced a combined 31 episodes, yet it not only remains in syndication but it also led to a 2003 reimagining that produced a 75-episode TV series.

The growth of cable and satellite television has prompted channels to rerun series more often, with fewer episodes. Reruns of a particular show may air multiple times a day, several days a week, despite having only one or two seasons of episodes produced.

In recent years, the 100-episode milestone for syndication has been lowered to 88 episodes. Shows approaching the 88-episode target are often renewed despite low ratings in order to ensure syndication. Production companies can offer discounts on licensing fees to networks to encourage renewal.

Shows that are approaching the 88-episode syndication milestone but get poor ratings are often moved to graveyard slots on Friday or Saturday in order to burn off remaining episodes.

An extreme example of a show renewed for syndication was 'Til Death. During its third season, 'Til Death was pulled from Fox's lineup in October 2008 after seven episodes due to low ratings. 'Til Death was later renewed for a fourth season after Sony Pictures Entertainment offered Fox a discount on the licensing fee. Unaired episodes from the third season were broadcast alongside fourth season episodes from October 2009 onwards, first on Fridays and later on Sundays. The show eventually reached 81 episodes, enough for off-network syndication.